Quick Start Tutorials > Using the Project Explorer > Navigating in the Project Explorer

If you are familiar with the Windows Explorer then you already have the basic skills you need to find your way around the Project Explorer, they both function in pretty much the same way.

The Project Explorer displays the contents of your projects in the same way as files in the Windows Explorer file manager. Selecting topic files in the Table of Contents (TOC) or Topic Files sections displays their contents in the Editor.

The Project Explorer display is exactly the same for both the compressed .hmxz format and the uncompressed .hmxp format. The only difference between the two formats is the way they are saved – both contain exactly the same files and folders.

Opening projects:

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•To load an existing project select the File menu, click on Open. and select a project to load (or create a new project).

Loading multiple projects:

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•You can load multiple projects in the Project Explorer.

•To load multiple projects at the same time, use Ctrl+Click and Shift+Click in the Open dialog.

•Select entries in the Table of Contents section to display and edit topics.

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•The and buttons expand and collapse projects and the main sections of each project.

•Inside the main sections the +/- nodes expand and collapse the subsections, just as they do in the Windows Explorer.

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•To edit a topic or topic file just click on an item in the Table of Contents or Project Files sections of the Explorer. Topic contents are displayed in the editor and can be edited directly. Work as you would in a word processor.

•To edit your project properties just select items in the Configuration section – the dialogs with the settings are displayed in the editor pane.

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You can move, copy and paste topics in the Explorer. Drag with the mouse, right-click to display editing options or use the Clipboard functions in the Project tab.

•Drag a topic between other topics to insert it before or after the other topics.

•Drag a topic onto another topic to make it a child (subtopic) of the other topic.

•Use Ctrl+C to copy, Ctrl+X to cut and Ctrl+V to paste topics in the Project Explorer.